Waveguide Biosensors

Dear Colleagues,

Waveguides are thin films or cylindrical microstructures that effectively conduct light. Their small size, flexible geometry, ability to channel light over a long distance, and noise immunity make waveguides ideal for chemical and biochemical sensing. Waveguides are increasing used to improve sensitivity in bioanalysis. Plasmonics is an emerging branch of nanophotonics that has shown itself to have an increasing impact in bioanalysis. There are two types of surface plasmon resonance (SPR): the more traditional propagating SPR (PSPR) and the more recent localized SPR (LSPR) based on nanostructures. Both types of SPR sensing techniques have been applied to a wide range of biomolecular interactions and quantitation. Plasmonic nanostructures are also very attractive for surface-enhanced spectroscopies such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), surface-enhanced absorption (SEA), and surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF). In particular, the sensing sensitivity increases as the interaction length increases. The smart combination of the two branches, plasmonics and waveguide, typically has a few orders of magnitude better detection limit than that of either one alone, potentially leading to a new generation of biosensors.

This Special Issue focuses on the recent progress in waveguides (WGs), in particular plasmonic waveguide (PW) biosensors, as a platform for biochemical analysis. We invite authors to submit manuscripts that help to advance waveguide sensing platforms and their applications in various bioanalytical fields. Articles may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Fiber optic biosensors;
• Planar waveguide-based biosensors;
• Guided mode resonance biosensors;
• Grating-based biosensors;
• Microring resonator-based biosensors;
• Photonic crystal-based biosensors;
• Waveguide biosensors based on other kinds of waveguide structures;
• Integration of microfluidics with waveguides for biosensing;
• New waveguide materials;
• Fiber optic PSPR biosensors;
• Planar waveguide-based PSPR biosensors;
• Fiber optic LSPR biosensors;
• Planar waveguide-based LSPR biosensors;
• Plasmonic waveguide interferometer biosensors;
• Plasmonic waveguides for SERS, SEA, and SEF developments;
• New waveguide structures and sensors that have a potential to be integrated with plasmonics;
• New nanomaterials for PW biosensors;
• Application of GW and PW in biomedical applications;
• Application of GW and PW in agricultural and food safety testing applications;
• Application of GW and PW in environmental applications;
• Application of GW and PW in drug discovery;
• Application of GW and PW in biointeraction analysis.

Prof. Dr. Lai-Kwan Chau
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.